Park City Miner’s Day

by Melissa Kyle FlinnAugust 27, 2015

While the rest of the country celebrates Labor Day on September 7th, Park City once again celebrates Miner’s Day— for the 118th time.

Much like the 4th of July, there will be breakfast, a 5K, a parade, BBQ, music, and kids activities. Unlike the 4th of July, there are a few additional events to celebrate our mining history and others that are just Park City tradition.

Running of the Balls….yes, you read that right….running of the balls. A Park City tradition where you can adopt a ball for $5 or 5 balls for $20. The balls are set loose at the top of Main Street in a race to get to the finish line. The winning ball’s owner has an opportunity to win some pretty great prizes (ski passes, hotel stays, dinners, and whatever else has been donated to the cause). If you want to get in on the action, you can adopt your balls at the Sunday Silly Markets on lower Main the two weekends before or on Main Street the day of (be sure to get there early).

Since you’ve got your spot for the running of the balls, you should stay for the parade. As a small town, we love our parades. You’ll see everything from people walking in costumes to big floats. The parade starts at the top of Main Street and heads down the hill and Park Avenue to City Park. If you want to be in it, you can….as long as you submit your application by September 3.

One of the highlights celebrating our town’s mining heritage is the mucking & drilling competition. If that sounds like a foreign language, imagine all of the hard work that silver miners do. Now put it in fast forward. Muck is the broken up ore after blasting and it needs to be loaded and dumped as fast as possible. And for the drilling, it’s a race to get two holes drilled into a slab of rock. Check this out at 2 o’clock in the parking lot in front of the skate park.

And finally, after you’ve had your fill watching mucking and drilling, you can turn around and watch the Skateboard Pro Jam. Check out both amateurs and pros competing in our very own world-class skate park. Or if you’re feeling adventurous and want to compete, you can register early at PC MARC or day-of right there at the park.

Check out the full schedule at parkcityminersday.org. The Miner’s Day festivities are some of my personal favorites and they’re definitely worth checking out if you’re going to be in town. It’s a chance to see a different side of Park City—and a little bit of what the town was known for before winter sports took over as the claim to fame. If you’ve ever wondered why the town’s motto is “from mining for silver to skiing for gold,” here’s your chance to find out.

Melissa grew up in Indiana and has lived in Park City for more than fifteen years. She does market research in Salt Lake City. In her free time, Melissa enjoys spending time exploring Park City, attending concerts & festivals, trying new restaurants, snowboarding, and walking around.